SMS Siegfried was the lead ship of the six-member Siegfried class of coastal defense ships built for the German Imperial Navy. Her sister ships were Beowulf, Frithjof, Heimdall, Hildebrand, and Hagen. Siegfried was built by the Germaniawerft shipyard between 1888 and 1890, and was armed with a main battery of three 24-centimeter (9.4 in) guns. She served in the German fleet throughout the 1890s and was rebuilt in 1903 - 1904. She served in the VI Battle Squadron after the outbreak of World War I in August 1914, but saw no action. Siegfried was demobilized in 1915 and used as a barracks ship thereafter. She was ultimately broken up for scrap in 1920.

SMS Baden was one of four Sachsen-class armored frigates of the German Kaiserliche Marine. Her sister ships were Sachsen, Bayern, and Württemberg. Baden was built in the Kaiserliche Marine in Kiel from 1876 to 1883. The ship was commissioned into the Imperial Navy in September 1883. She was armed with a main battery of six 26 cm (10.2 in) guns in two open barbettes.